Anthropic’s launch of AI legal tool hits shares in European data companies

European publishing and legal software companies have suffered sharp declines in their share prices after the US artificial intelligence startup Anthropic revealed a tool for use by companies’ legal departments.Anthropic, the company behind the chatbot Claude, said its tool could automate legal work such as contract reviewing, non-disclosure agreement triage, compliance workflows, legal briefings and templated responses.Shares in the UK publishing group Pearson fell by nearly 8% on the news, and shares in the information and analytics company Relx plunged 14%. The software company Sage lost 10% in London and the Dutch software company Wolters Kluwer lost 13% in Amsterdam.Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group fell by 13% and the credit reporting company Experian dropped by 7% in London, amid fears over the impact of AI on data companies

Disastrous start for US TikTok as users cry censorship

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m Blake Montgomery, writing to you from Doha, where I’m moderating panels about AI and investing as part of the Web Summit Qatar.I want to bring your attention to the impact of a Guardian story. In December, we published a story, “‘A black hole’: families and police say tech giants delay investigations in child abuse and drug cases”, about grieving families and law enforcement officers who say that Meta and Snapchat have slowed down criminal investigations. (The tech companies contend that they cooperate

‘Deepfakes spreading and more AI companions’: seven takeaways from the latest artificial intelligence safety report

The International AI Safety report is an annual survey of technological progress and the risks it is creating across multiple areas, from deepfakes to the jobs market.Commissioned at the 2023 global AI safety summit, it is chaired by the Canadian computer scientist Yoshua Bengio, who describes the “daunting challenges” posed by rapid developments in the field. The report is also guided by senior advisers, including Nobel laureates Geoffrey Hinton and Daron Acemoglu.Here are some of the key points from the second annual report, published on Tuesday. It stresses that it is a state-of-play document, rather than a vehicle for making specific policy recommendations to governments

Palantir beats Wall Street expectations amid Trump immigration crackdown

Palantir celebrated its latest financial results on Monday, as the tech company blew past Wall Street expectations and continues to prop up the Trump administration’s push to deport immigrants.Palantir has secured millions of dollars in federal contracts amid Trump’s crackdown on immigrants. The multibillion-dollar Denver-based firm creates tech focused on surveillance and analytics, to be used by the government agencies and private companies.Palantir’s biggest US customer is the Department of Defense; it also works with the Department of Homeland Security, and the majority of its revenue comes from deals with the federal government. Palantir reported 66% year-over-year growth in revenue from government contracts, to $570m

‘A mixed blessing’: crowdfunding has changed the way we give, but is it fair and effective?

Within hours of the Bondi beach terror attack, the money had already begun to pour in. As images of the tragedy flooded social media, people from around the world donated tens of thousands of dollars to the victims, their families and first responders.Passing the hat around the neighbourhood or the local pub has always been a staple response in times of crisis. But today, that instinct to open your wallet has been exponentially supercharged via a digital simulacrum: online crowdfunding platforms.GoFundMe fundraisers have since raised more than $3m for Ahmed al-Ahmed, who tackled and disarmed one of the gunmen before he suffered three gunshot wounds to his shoulder

‘Marketplace for predators’: Meta faces jury trial over child exploitation claims

Meta’s second major trial of 2026 over alleged harms to children begins on Monday.The landmark jury trial in Santa Fe pits the New Mexico attorney general’s office against the social media giant. The state alleges that the company knowingly enabled predators to use Facebook and Instagram to exploit children.The trial will introduce evidence that Raúl Torrez, the state’s attorney general, believes shows how Meta’s social networks create dangerous environments for children, exposing them to sexual exploitation, solicitation, sextortion and human trafficking.The lawsuit states that Meta’s design choices and profit incentives prioritized engagement over child safety and that it failed to implement effective safeguards